“We can articulate a vision for the future that ensures our community is a place where low-income people can stay and thrive, while still allowing the neighborhood to adapt and change.”

Cindy Wu is equal parts grassroots activist and pragmatic problem-solver. The common thread, though all her years of work has been deep commitment to community engagement and decision-making by Chinatown’s residents to determine their own fate for their neighborhood.

As deputy director of Chinatown Community Development Center, she leads the CDC’s efforts on a range of local challenges from affordable housing and equitable transportation to culturally-sensitive economic development. She has also managed the organization’s planning program, empowering residents to advocate for their community and attracting more than $45 million in neighborhood capital improvements. Before joining Chinatown CDC, she gathered and analyzed program data and detailed supportive housing indicators at Cecil Williams Glide Community House in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco.

Cindy has also been as a vital member of the San Francisco Planning Commission, including a term serving as its president, working to develop strategies that protect neighborhood businesses and streamline affordable housing construction. She also recently chaired the San Francisco Democratic Party.

She holds a master’s degree in city planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley.

Organization:

Chinatown Community Development Center; San Francisco, CA

Area of Focus:

Nonprofit impact/community engagement

Fellowship Project:

Reporting on a decade of community development work in San Francisco’s Chinatown, specifically reflecting on strategies that mitigate displacement and gentrification.